�There is absolutely no question that the hotels developing spa facilities are prospering,� said Christopher Dauer, Editor-in-Chief of Spa Business Monthly. �The evidence is overwhelming.� 

�In a recent survey of resort/hotel managers by Health Fitness Dynamics, 97% of managers said that a spa was a marketing advantage, 83% said that it increased their revenues per occupied room, and 73% said that having a spa in their property increased their occupancy rates. Forty-three percent agreed that a spa increased guests� length of stay; 57% replied that the spa increased their room rate and 70% said that it enhanced the perceived value for the room rate,� noted Dauer.

�We see that spas give our properties a competitive edge,� said Maureen Callahan, Vice President for regional sales and marketing of Englewood, CO-based Destination Hotels Resorts, which runs 24 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Great Britain. �Typically, anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of hotel guests use the spa and fitness facilities in our properties that offer them. Both individual and group travelers have come to expect a spa in the resort they are visiting, and we are working hard to make sure that our hotels have top-class spa facilities.� 

Among Destination�s properties are the Eden Roc Resort Spa in Miami Beach, which boasts a 55,000 square-foot health club and spa with nine treatment rooms, and L�Auberge del Mar, a �boutique hotel and spa� in Del Mar, CA. �L�Auberge del Mar�s spa is only 22,000 square feet,� said Ms. Callahan. �But it is a top facility, offering eight different kinds of massage, six types of facials, hydrotherapy, and a number of body wraps and baths.� 

�Hotels are anxious to add spas to their properties because they are working hard to meet guest expectations,� said Patty Monteson, owner of Pompano Beach, FL-based Health Fitness Dynamics, Inc., which plans and manages health spas for fine hotels and resorts. 

�Hotels are trying to catch up to their guests� needs. And surveys illustrate that they are gaining ground. That�s important, because our research shows that more than four in five guests choose one resort over another because of the availability of a spa.� 

Spa services at the Hyatt Resorts in the U.S. and the Caribbean �always offer more than the standard manicure and back rub because the sophistication of today�s traveler is growing,� according to Victor Lopez, divisional vice president. 

Mr. Lopez added that the chain continually develops new treatment indigenous to each resort�s location, incorporating ingredients and traditions to create exceptional experiences.  Mr. Lopez also noted that the development costs for hotel spas is significant compared to the revenues they produce, a view shared by the vast majority of those organizations that have developed facilities. 

Day and destination spas are now a part of a multi-billion dollar industry, with more players entering the business every day.